Apparatus for melting metals



Nov. 25, 1941.

A. H. JUNG APPARATUS FOR MELTING METALS Filed Dec. 10, 1940 4Sheets-Sheet 2 314mm QLBE tr H Q NOV. 25, 1941. JUNG APPARATUS FORMELTING METALS Filed Dec. 10, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 25,1941 APPARATUS FOR MELTING METALS Albert II. Jung, Flushing, N. Y.,assignor to United American Metals Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application December 10, 1940, Serial No.369,484

12 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of melting metal, and moreparticularly to .the continuous remelting of type metal or other metalslugs.

In printing. plants wherein a series of Linotype machines or other linecasting machines are in use and where such machines are adapted tocontinuously be fed with metal ingots of a specific shape adapted to beassoicated. with a specific metal feeder and melted in a particularmelting pot connected to the Linotype or other line casting machines,there is a constant need for cast metal ingots of a specific shape andaccordingly such printing plants must carry on hand a very large supplyof such specifically formed ingots.

After all the ingots in the plant have been fed to the Linotype or linecasting machine, melted down and formed into cast line slugs which areused in the printing process, it becomes necessary to remelt the slugsinto the specially shaped ingots which may be of the Margach type.

In accordance with the prior art, these printing plants are equippedwith a relatively large melting furnace containing a melting pot of asize sufficient to remelt all the metal used in the line castingmachines during a predetermined period of time, such as for example oneday or two days or longer. In other words when the metal ingot supplyhas run low, all the used metal slugs are collected and fed into thefurnace to be remelted. The remelting process may take approximately twohours or somewhat longer, and all the metal is remelted and poured intomolds to form the ingots of proper shape for use in the line castingmachinefeeders.

The furnaces of prior constructions have accordingly been relativelylarge, expensive, and generally relatively unsatisfactory in operationdue to their intermittent use, the great amount of space they occupy,and the fact that the remelting operation is put off until the lastmoment because of the expense involved in operating it to the greatinconvenience of the linecasting machine operators who may need ingotsduring the period of operation of the furnace.

It is an object of the instant invention to provide a relatively simpleinexpensive remelting furnace adapted to be used continuously for theremelting of slugs into type metal ingots or the like.

It'is another object of the instant invention to teach a novelcontinuous method of remelting slugs into ingots of the Margach type.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide for theremelting of metal slugs in a door 16 on the outside of the hinge I8.

novel manner, including a novel hopper arrangement'to effect a more orless continuous remelting process.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a view in perspective of a furnace in accordance with theinvention, depicting the :molten metal chute, its control, and theMargach type molds;

Figure 2 is a vertical section of a remelting furnace in accordance withthe invention;

Figure 3 is an elevational view of the rear of the furnace showing thefuel pipe connections;

- Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 but of a modified form;

Figure 5 is a; sectional view taken at angles to the section shown inFigure 4;

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 66 of Figure 4and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure '7 is a top plan view taken along line l--! of Figure 5 andlooking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to Figure 1, the furnace l0 comprises a base II having legs I2on which is supported the body portion [3 which houses the melting pot,to be describedlater. Supported-directly on the body portion is thehopper structure i4 provided with a feed passageway l5 at its front anda door I6 therefor adapted to be operated by the handle II. The door I6is pivoted at I8 in such a manner that-the center of gravity thereof ison the hopper side of the hinge, whereby the feed door I6 will tend toremain in closed position unless the operator pulls the handle Handlocates the center of gravity of the Supported on'the top of the hopperI4 is a gas takeoff arrangement l9 which will be described later. A lidL hinged at the rear of the gas take-off arrangement 19 normally coversthe top opening to'the hopper l4 when the same is not being fed withmetal slugs. Leading from the body portion I3 is the molten metaldischarge spout 20 controlled by a valve within the pot, to be describedlater, by the handle H. The molten metal discharged from the spout 20passes into the horizontally swingable distributor chute 2| which ispivoted on a vertical axis within the bearing 22 supported on the bodyportion l3 by the bracket 23. Mounted within the chute 2| and secured tothe arms 24 is the gate 25 which in the position shown serves rightassociated with line casting mechanisms which form the slugs to beeventually remelted.

Should the level of molten metal within pct 29 reach an abnormally highlevel due to excessive feeding of slugs to the hopper I4, a proper highlevel will be maintained by the overflow by-pass O which serves toconvey excess molten metal past valve 44a, when the same is closed,through discharge spout 20 and into the mold cavity therebelow. Feedingof slugs may then be temporarily discontinued until a series of moldcavities are filled with metal from the pot by operation of valve 44a.

The door I6 is only utilized when it is desired to feed the remelterfrom the side of the furnace instead of from the top, or when service,such as cleaning, is to be effected within the hopper or the meltingpot.

A suction fan not shown may be associated within a flue or conduitconnected with the outlet 42 in order to facilitate removal of hot gasespassing up the flue 4| and flue continuation Ma.

In order to facilitate the continuous operation of the device athermostatic control device for the heater has been incorporated withinthe furnace, which control may be manually adjusted to efiect theconditions desired.

In furnaces of the prior art incorporating a melting pot of a sizemerely large enough to accommodate the molten metal for the molds, theoperator would have to stand by until suflicient slugs were meltedbefore room could be had for additional slugs. In accordance with theinstant invention this waste of time is avoided by providing the hopperarrangement shown in the drawings so that continuous charging of the potmay be effected. Should the pot become overcharged, the overflowarrangement will act as a signal.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in this device without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in thedrawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A furnace comprising a melting pot, a heater therefor, a gas take-offarrangement arranged thereabove, said take-off arrangement comprising apair of inclined walls angularly disposed inwardly and downwardly andextending around the melting pot, an annular gas collecting chamberconnected to said walls, and a gas discharge outlet connected to saidannular chamber.

2. A furnace comprising a relatively small melting pot, a heatingarrangement associated therewith, a hopper located above said meltingpot, said melting pot having a volumetric capacity corresponding to morethan twice the volumetric capacity of said melting pot, a dischargeconduit leading from said melting pot, a valve associated with saiddischarge conduit, a by-pass connecting said pot and said dischargeconduit independently of said valve, one portion of said by-pass beingassociated with an upper portion of said melting pot whereby excessmolten metal may be discharged from said pot when the same is over fed.

3. A remelting apparatus comprising a slug fed hopper, a melting pot,and means for applying heat to said melting pot, said hopper beingapproximately three times the volumetric size of the melting pot, thesides of said hopper being substantially vertical, the horizontalcrosssectional configuration of said hopper corresponding to thehorizontal cross-sectional configuration of the upper portion of saidpot, whereby slugs may be continuously fed to said hopper and when it isfull the volumetric capacity of the melting pot will generallycorrespond to the solid volume of metal in the hopper, said melting pothaving a relatively narrow flue built into and extending up one sidethereof, a pair of conduits extending along each side of said flue andcarrying electrical conduits, a pair of electric heaters within saidpot, said conduits being connected to said heaters.

4. A remelting apparatus comprising a slug fed hopper, a melting pot,and means for applying heat to said melting pot, said hopper beingapproximately three times the volumetric size of the melting pot, thesides of said hopper being substantially vertical, the horizontalcrosssectional configuration of said hopper corresponding to thehorizontal cross-sectional configuration of the upper portion of saidpot, whereby slugs may be continuously fed to said hopper and when it isfull the volumetric capacity of the melting pot will generallycorrespond to the solid volume of metal in the hopper, conduit means forsupplying energy to said heating means, a guard for said conduit meansmounted on the rear of said hopper.

5. A remelting apparatus comprising a slug fed hopper, a melting pot,and means for applying heat to said melting pot, said hopper beingapproximately three times the volumetric size of the melting pot, thesides of said hopper-being substantially vertical, the horizontalcrosssectional configuration of said hopper corresponding to thehorizontal cross-sectional configuration of the upper portion of saidpot, whereby slugs may be continuously fed to said hopper and when it isfull the volumetric capacity of the melting pot will generallycorrespond to the solid volume of metal in the hopper, a discharge spoutleading from said melting pot, a rotary valve in said discharge spout, ahandle for operating said discharge spout, a distribution chute having avertical turning axis located below said spout, and means operable by asingle hand for controlling the flow through said chute and for swingingsaid chute from one mold cavity to an adjacent mold cavity.

6. A metal remelting apparatus comprising a slug feeding hopper, amelting pot directly therebelow, means forming insulation about thewalls of said melting pot, said hopper comprising generally uprightsides which are substantially vertical, the horizontal cross sectionalconfiguration of said hopper corresponding to the horizontal crosssectional configuration of the upper portion of said melting pot, meansfor heating the exterior of the bottom of said melting pot, said heatingmeans comprising a gas flame, means associated with one wall of saidhopper for preventing the flow of flue gases produced by said heatingmeans about said hopper, whereby the slugs within said hopper will befed without sticking or jamming from said hopper into said melting potand said flue gases will be conducted away from said melting pot afterheat exchange therewith has taken place 7. The structure recited inclaim 6, an annular duct-like chamber extending about the upper portionof said hopper and in a plane outside of the substantially verticalwalls thereof, and walls forming a gasdischarge outlet from said annularchamber.

8.- A metal remelting apparatus comprising a hopper haying substantiallyvertical walls, a melting pot associated therewith and located directlytherebelow, means for applying heat to said melting pot tomelt the metaltherewithin and'fed thereto by said hopper, saidpot being formed on oneside with 'a generally tubular passageway, saidhopper being formed on acorresponding side'with a generally tubular passageway, said tubularpassageways being substantially in alinement.

9. The structure recited in claim 8; an annular duct-like chamberextending about the upper portion of said hopper and in a plane outsideof the substantially vertical walls thereof, and Walls'forming a gasdischarge outlet from said annular chamber.

10; The structure recited in claim 8, a gas take-off arrangement locateddirectly thereabove, said take-off arrangement comprising inclinedwallsangularly disposed inwardly and downwardly and extending aroundsaid hopper, an annular gas collecting chamber connected to said walls,and agas discharge outlet connected tosaid annular chamber.

111.- The structure recited in claim 8, a gas take-oil arrangementlocated directly thereabove, said take-off arrangement comprisinginclined walls angularly disposed inwardly and down= wardly andextending around saidhopper, an annulargas'c'oll'ecting'chamberconnected to said walls, and ages dischargeoutlet connected to said annular chamber, a lid hinged at the top ofsaid inclined walls and forming a cover for said hopper, said lidcooperating with the struc' ture recitedfor directing the gasesemanating from said melting pot into said annular gas collectingchamber.

12. A metal remeltingiapparatus comprising a slugfeeding hopper having afeed opening in its top and having substantially vertical side walls, amelting pot located immediately therebelow, heating means for saidme'lting pot; insulation means for said'melting pot forming a space'about' the melting pot, said last mentioned means-comprising wallsextending from adjacent the top of said melting pot downwardly along thesides of said melting'pot and substantially separating the space aboutsaid melting pot from the space about said hopper, said heatingmeansoperating' to effect the flow of hot gases about the exterior ofsaidmelting pot, and means for collecting said hot gases after they havepassed about said melting pot and for preventing said hot gases frompassing about the major area of the Walls of said feeding hopper.

- ALBERT H. JUNG;

